Veteran duo hoping for three in a row

Misty May-Treanor arrived in London with an "extremely heavy" suitcase, weighed down by cold-weather clothing.

The American beach volleyball star has needed nothing but her bikini yet — temperatures have soared to the high-20s in London this week — but forecasters are calling for rain and temperatures in the low to high teens on the weekend, when the competition gets underway at the Horse Guards Parade.

And that means Prince Harry and the lads, who snapped up tickets to one of the most popular spectator sports of the Games, may not be treated to the usual scenes of scantily clad women fighting for beach supremacy. Rules were relaxed this year to allow female athletes to wear shorts and sleeved shirts rather than bikinis on the court, and exceptions have always been allowed for cold weather.

No matter what she chooses to wear, the focus will be on May-Treanor and her partner, Kerry Walsh Jennings, as they attempt to win a third-straight Olympic gold medal, something no other pair has done.

"We feel good," May-Treanor said Wednesday, at a press conference introducing the U.S. beach volleyball team. "It's an awesome stadium and an awesome venue and we're looking forward to the night matches."

Although May-Treanor and Walsh envision themselves at the top of the podium again, getting there won't be easy. They're the fifth-ranked team in the world right now, behind the Chinese team of Zhang Xi and Xue Chen, Brazilians Larissa Franca and Juliana Silva and Talita Rocha and Maria Antonelli, and their U.S. teammates Jennifer Kessy and April Ross. They're also among the, um, most experienced teams in the tournament.

"It's kind of surreal when we're getting announced and I'm 34 and the players we're playing against are 21, 22, but that's where we were at when we started," said May-Treanor, who will turn 35 on July 30.

The last few years have been a challenge for the pair. May-Treanor ruptured her Achilles tendon in 2008 while training for Dancing with the Stars, while Walsh took time off to have two children: sons Joseph and Sundance.

But the time away from the sport also allowed them to focus on their goals.

"When I made the choice to come back with Kerry, we wanted to go for No. 3 because nobody's ever done it before," May-Treanor said. "We didn't play together for two years and it's been fun to reunite and get back into it."

No matter the result, May-Treanor said this will be her final tournament, of any kind: "It's time to move on."

But she has no concerns about the sport, which has grown tremendously since its debut in 1996 in Atlanta and her first win in 2004 in Athens.

"At home, there are junior tournaments every weekend," she said. "We've got a lot of good players who are going to fill our places when we're gone."

Ross said the fact that one of the most titillating sports of the Olympics is being played against the backdrop of the staid Horse Guards Parade — home to royal tournaments and celebrations dating back to the 17th century — may give it even more of a boost.

"It's a little bit shocking for people, but that draws them in," she said. "And once they see the athleticism they're hooked and become lifelong fans."